Today I was looking through my #Healthy Mind Cookbook and noticed several strogonof recipes. I am not a big creamy sauce person but the thought of using nondairy cream intrigued me. I used sweet peppers from my garden, a red onion for a little bite,fresh chopped garlic, fresh purple basil with its flowers from my plants, cumin, dried oregano, dried dill sauteed in avocado oil. Then I added shitake mushroom and enough flax milk to cover. Salted to taste with Celtic Sea Salt. Simmered until mushrooms were tender.
Strogonof Sauce Inspired
I poured thos over a baked potato. It was quite tasty. I might be getting good at this vegan cooking thing 😄😄😄
Took a break from jackfruit to use my baby portabella mushrooms before they went bad. Trying to change the mushroom lose paradigm. I chopped the chickpeas and mushrooms together in the food processor. I added some leftover cooked oatmeal from breakfast to aid in binding. I used onion powder instead of fresh onions because I am trying to determine the source of a bitter taste in my veggie burgers. It was suggested by another vegan to soak the fresh onions before using but it didn’t help. I added my spices and herbs. It was a little too moist so I added some rolled oats. I set the mixture aside while I made jackfruit dinner. 😄. After dinner I decided to wait until the next day to cook the burgers. I put the mixture in a glass container. I noticed it looked like a meatloaf so I thought, why not? The next day I cooked the”meatloaf”. Dinner became black-eyed peas, mixed veggies and meatless meatloaf. Burgers will have to wait.
I am not adding a measured recipe because I didn’t measure. This was totally a “my senses determined how much and what” kind of dish. The flavors were correct but the texture was a little dry. It will definitely be tried again with a little more scientific precision 😄.
I think everyone, at least vegans, have experienced those too ripe bananas that just look terrible and a breath away from the banana graveyard. I keep telling myself that I’m going to make banana bread before it’s too late. I have never made. Today I did. I searched the internet for a vegan recipe and I found quite a few. I then had to narrow it down to those who matched the ingredients I had in the pantry. I landed on Nora Cook’s recipe. Of course I didn’t have everything required. I don’t use all purpose flour. Subtitue number 1. I didn’t feel like softening up my brown sugar. Substitute number 2. I had ground so much today that I didn’t feel like grinding flax seeds to make the flax egg. Subtitute number 3. Had no almond milk. Substitute 4.
The resulting recipe: 2 cups of buckwheat flour, 2 TBLs chia seeds, 12 Tbls Water to make chia eggs. Add more water if needed to get an egg like texture. 1/4 cup flax milk, 1/3 cup melted vegan butter, 1/2 cup Agave nectar, 1 tsp Baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, walnuts. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
Yes I’m on a jackfruit journey. As I mentioned in my last post I discovered an authenic vegan Mexican restaurant in my neighborhood, #VEEGOS. They are my motivation. I decided to try making taco meat from jackfruit. I use young jackfruit packed in water. The only preservatives are lime juice and sea salt. That gives it a salty taste. For those who want to minimize or eliminate that, I suggest rinsing the jackfruit. I haven’t tried it but I think it would work.
I also decided to make my own Mexican spice mix. I did not add salt because of the saltiness of the jackfruit. My mix was cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, and oregano. I put the jackfruit in the food processor with the mix. Just a note. I was out of chili powder so I ground some chili pepper flakes. While that was marinating I made some pico de gallo. I had no salsa. I used the chili pepper flakes in the mix so I skipped the jalapenos in my pico. Hey use what you got. I used roma tomatoes, green onions (white and green parts), parsley and a pinch of salt. I must say here thank God for food processors. I could have chopped all of this including the jackfruit but the processor made it so easy and quick.
When we were ready to eat, I took the jackfruit mixture out of the fridge and tasted it. Hmm it was good. It could have been eaten raw on a romaine leaf wrap but I added more cumin and it gave it a slightly bitter taste, I added some olive oil and cooked it in a nonstick skillet just like I would have used ground beef or ground turkey. I lightly fried my tortilla shells. I placed grated vegan mozzarella and cheddar cheese, the jackfruit and the pico de gallo on the tortillas. We enjoyed a very good late lunch.
Jackfruit Tacos
I told you VEEGOS was my motivation but it wasn’t just because of the jackfruit. I wanted their nachos. They are loaded and very good. I was all set to go and get them when I realized today is Monday. They are closed on Monday. As a result I made jackfruit tacos. So glad I did. Now I have a raw and cooked option. Give it a try.
Many vegans wonder why whould you want to eat something that imitates meat. Well when you have spent your whole life experiencing meat based food, the desire for those flavors and textures don’t go away immediately if at all. We are vegans for a variety of reasons. I wanted to improve our health initially and then my husband had a heart attack. His cardiologist prescribed a raw vegan lifestyle change. However, I did not lose my desire for certain flavors and foods One of those was tuna salad sandwiches or tuna and crackers. Until now I had not tried to make a substitute. All of the substitutes were carrot based mixtures that tasted nothing like tuna or at least remind me of seafood. My motivation for trying to create something now is my new found relationship with young jack fruit.
I must digress for a moment. The first time I tried jack fruit it was in a prepared barbeque meat substitute from the grocery store. I hated it. It was too sweet and it turned me off. Recently I discovered Veegos Authentic Mexican vegan restaurant. One of the protein selections was jack fruit. I loved it.. A customer told me how to get the same product at home. First, you must buy young jack fruit canned in water or brine. I use the packed in water. This product has not ripened so it has no flavor. That makes it perfect for absorbing the flavors of the marinade or seasonings. Back to the not tuna.
I did my research to discover the best things to use to get that seafood flavor. I have used dulse and hijiki seaweed before but it didn’t give me what I was looking for although it did add that seawater taste.What brought it home was Old Bay seasoning. I made my not tuna salad with young jack fruit, cooked pureed chickpeas, celery, dulse, hijiki seaweed, onion powder, garlic powder, It was a success. I served it on a vegetable salad. It was a good dinner. I planned to try it again with rehydrated chickpeas or another fresh bean product to make it a raw meal.
"Black Soil" Living 